This year, Iraqis were chosen to participate in the Hajj by a national
lottery system, as opposed to nepotism and political favoritism that
determined who could participate in the annual pilgrimage to Mecca
under Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi High Commission for the Hajj assigned
visas through a system that gave special allocations for the elderly
and families of victims of Saddam's brutality. Nearly 43,000 Iraqi pilgrims
will join the hundreds of thousands of Muslims from around the world in Mecca this week. The Hajj provides another example of ways that Iraq
reintegrating into the international community.